VILLAGE OF EXETER

This blog is sponsored by the Village of Exeter and it is for all the past, present and future residents of Exeter. It is a place to comment on the happenings of Exeter and your place to inform the community

Thursday, March 24, 2011

FILLMORE COUNTY - The Odegeo…Leadership for Fillmore County class attended an

Agriculture session on March 15, 2011.

The members met at the York State Bank Board Room where Ryne Norton from

Farm Service Agency and Don Jividen from Geneva State Bank shared information

on the Farm Program and agriculture lending and issues facing agriculture today.

The members traveled to Milligan where Kelly Baller took them on a tour of Milligan House of Meats. The group walked to Ron’s Tavern where B & A Farms provided kolaches. During the break Jeff Janksy spoke to the group about the many entrepreneur projects he is involved with from chickens to manure spreading to raising hogs.

The members traveled to Milligan Pork north of Milligan where Jeff Jansy spoke to the group about the hog finisher and how it is managed.

Next the group traveled to Harre Feedyards where Katherine and Robert Harre gave the group a tour and talked about the workings of a feedlot.

The members enjoyed the lunch sponsored by PC Nuts at John E’s in Exeter.

Allen Vavra was the speaker at the Farmer’s Cooperative in Exeter. He talked about the crop production in Fillmore County and the surrounding area that come into the Farmer’s Cooperative and to what places and foreign countries the grains are shipped. Vavra stated that 5% of the white corn raised in the United States goes through Exeter.

The next stop was Manning Grain in Burress where Kent Manning spoke to the members about the 1940’s dance hall and the amount of grains that are hauled into the storage there. The group also boarded the Manning Grain locomotive located on the railroad tracts there.

Advanced BioEnergy provided a snack while Tony Beam shared a power point about how an ethanol plant works. Then Megan Williams took the members on a tour of the plant.

Traveling back to Geneva, Bonnie Zelenka and Jim Engle talked Geneva Implement and computerized tractors, combines and other implements. Several members of the group drove a new tractor.

The April session of the Odegeo. . . Leadership for Fillmore County will focus on Business and Industry.

There were be a benefit for Lori Ruhl-Walford of Exeter who is dealing with bile duct cancer on March 26th from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Exeter Care Center. In addition to vendors, outdoor inflatables, and a free will donation lunch there will be a Silent Auction featuring items like brand new kids bicycles with helmets, Husker Memorabilia, and Gift Baskets. Thrivent Lutheran will be matching donations up to $1000.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

From the left Caroline Harre, Cassie Harre and Meredith Emshoff model some of the current trends in Prom fashion at the Exeter Care Center.

Brooke Manning models a dress made by her Aunt Jennifer Manning in the early 1980's.

Wonder what your mother and grandmother wore to Prom? The Exeter G.F.W.C. hosted a Prom Fashion Show at the Exeter Care Center last Thursday.

While the high school models brought some of their own dresses to the show, they first modeled the fashions of their mothers and grandmothers.

Woman’s Club member Judy Dinneen found the dress her mother made her for a formal in the late 1950’s and Cassie Harre modeled it. Judy recalled "I told my mother just two weeks before that formal that I had decided to go and I needed a dress. She made it for me."

Not only did the residents at the Care Center enjoy seeing the fashions from the past they also enjoyed seeing the fashions of today.Dresses were modeled from almost every decade and many had a story to go that was shared as well.

Some of the girls modeled dresses their mother's and aunt's had worn. Many of the dresses had been made by hand, but the newer dresses were all from specialty dress shops.

Over the years the styles have changed moving from the fluff of the fifties and sixties, through the simple cotton fabrics and lace from the seventies and eighties, the satin of the late eighties and nineties to today's sleek form fitting cocktail dresses.

Sewn into those dresses were many memories of romance, dreams and most of all fun. Karen Chapman, President of the Exeter G.F.W.C. Woman's Club described each dress as the models approached. Her granddaughter was a model and several of her own daughter's dresses were shown.

Audience members also shared special memories of the dresses as the models took their turns on the care center runway. Models were Claire White, Brooke Manning, Jordyn Brandt, Meredith Emshoff, Caroline Harre, Cassie Harre, and Madison Horne.

After the dresses were shown and the photos were taken, the Woman’s Club members shared dessert with the care center residents and the models.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Juxtaposed against the grain elevator built in 1968 are three new large bins at Burress.

Kent Manning shows his son Mitchell how to run the locomotive.

The fourth generation of the Manning family is now growing up in the shade of the family grain elevator.

Located in Burress, Neb, Manning Grain is a rarity in a world of grain elevators, they are family owned and operated and have been for nearly 90 years. Population peaked in Burress in the 1890’s at 75. Today the only occupants in Burress share the same last name, Manning and employer, Manning Grain.

Current manager, Kent Manning, grew up in Burress which is located halfway between Fairmont and Exeter just four miles south of Highway 6 in Fillmore County. Many in the older generation know Burress as an attraction for some of the biggest of the big bands between the 1930’s and 1950’s. The dance hall in Burress hosted the likes of Lawrence Welk and other big names.

These days the former dance hall stores feed and the original train depot that was moved now serves as the office for the elevator along with a line of boots and snacks.

The Manning family has deep roots in grain. Kent’s father, Tom Manning moved to Burress as a child in 1934 after his father Earl purchased the A. Koehler C. Grain Elevator and combined his elevator at Sawyer (located one mile north and one mile west of Burress). Earl's father, Seron, was the first Exeter co-op manager and his father Isaac, was a grain dealer.

Even though the population in Burress has declined, business has boomed. Progress has also been evident. Kent said about his grandfather Earl, “He was progressive in his day. . .change is always hard but you have to. There is such a difference in harvest and equipment in today’s farms with semi’s hauling in the grain. We can’t serve the customer if we can’t dump their grain.”

Expansion has been the name of the game in Burress. The original old elevator was burned in 2007 after having stood for more than 125 years. The older elevator visible in the Burress skyline was built in 1968 with the large capacity storage bins added in 2007, 2009 and 2010. Before adding the three large bins the grain elevator had a capacity of about a million bushels. Now, they can store 4.1 million bushels before storing any on the ground.

With the new storage completed and the smaller harvest this last fall Manning grain had the capacity to store all of the grain their customers hauled in.

Hauling the grain out takes a fleet of five independent truckers to navigate the gravel county roads when the rail line was closed in 1998. Kent looks to change this in the future with the elevator’s recent purchase of the rail line and rights from Fairmont to Burress. The seven miles of track is slated for empty car storage right now. They have leased a locomotive, “We are trying to get some revenue to get the track in better shape. Someday we want to ship grain out by rail but it’s not in the immediate plan.”

Kent hopes to create more revenue with a contract to haul loaded cars in and use Manning equipment to unload the rail cars to trucks. Kent is trying to “think in long term growth for our business. To compete in the future we have to have these capability to unload and bigger bins - never know what opportunities will be there with the railroad.”

One of the most modern changes that has affected the grain industry has been the direct relationships ethanol plants have created with farmers. Kent has “seen it affect the business some. But with more acres planted and higher yields we haven’t see a lot of impact yet.“

With grain prices climbing closer to $7.00 a bushel that has had an impact on the elevator business. “It takes a lot more financing to buy the grain. The co-ops have all merged up and are a huge company with a lot more resources.”

And while Manning Grain isn’t a mega conglomerate they have some great resources in their employees including Kent‘s wife Cindy, brother Chris Manning, Kathy Kreinert and Gary Vodicka.

In the meantime Kent and his wife Cindy, who also works in the elevator are watching their kids grow up. Tyler, their oldest, is headed for college. “The kids work here every summer. I think they need to go out and experience the world for a few years before coming back to something like this like I did.”

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Students at Exeter-Milligan Public schools have been taking
part in the breakfast program for a couple months now, since
its implementation in January. Pictured here are some high
school and elementary students sitting together eating
breakfast. This is hopefully the beginning stages of a
possible big brother/big sister type mentor program at E-M.

Welcome to Exeter

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Exeter-Milligan State Champions

VOLLEYBALL2009 - State Champions

2010 - State Champions

2011 - Runner Up at State Tournament

2012 - State Champions

2014 - Third place at State Tournament

2015 - State Champions

2016 - Third place at State Tournament

2017- State ChampionsFOOTBALL2012 - Runner Up at State2013 - State Champions2014 - State ChampionsBOYS BASKETBALL2015 - State ChampionsGIRLS BASKETBALLSOFTBALLTRACK2017 - Boys Third Place at State Track

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Exeter Village Marshal

How do you get police help in Exeter? First call the Exeter Village Marshal Line. Listen to the message. It tells you. . . You have reached the Exeter Village Marshal's office and are unable to take your call at this time. If you have an EMERGENCY - hang up and DIAL 911 or call the Fillmore County Sheriff's Department at 402-759-4441. If you are looking for the Exeter Village Clerk, that number is 402-266-3051 or you can leave a message and the next available marshal will get back to you. ******Please DO call 911 if it is an emergency. If you have a loose dog caught you can call the Village Office to see if someone is available to take care of it********

Tin Cans: These are most of the canned goods on your pantry shelves. Preparations: Rinse, labels can be left on. Flatten gallon or large cans .

#2 Plastic (HDPE) This is a harder colored or white plastic is not clear. Examples: milk and water jugs, laundry detergents, shampoo, coffee, some yogurt, margarine & cottage cheese containers. Check the bottom number to be sure Preparations: rinse and discard lids, crush large containers

#1 Plastic (PETE) All plastic bottles that contain liquids consumed by humans are packaged in clear or colored # 1 PETE plastic bottles. Some other food such as catsup and salad dressing may also be this type but you must check the bottom number to be sure. Examples: pop, cranberry juice, sports drinks, liquor Preparations: rinse and discard lids

What NOT to do! Please do not use this trailer as your garbage dump! Items must be clean and properly sorted or the recycling company will not accept the items. DO NOT throw in bags, boxes, string or other “holders” along with the recycling items.